Upstate became the only provider in Central New York (and one of a few sites in the country) to offer breakthrough technology to help pinpoint hard-to-locate prostate cancers when it acquired the UroNav fusion biopsy system.

Traditional biopsies of the prostate gland rely on ultrasound to guide surgeons to areas where cancers tend to form, and random samples are taken.

The UroNav system uses technology similar to GPS navigation to guide a surgeon to where cancer may be hiding, such as an area within a man‘s prostate where the blood supply is abnormal. This allows more accurate samples to be taken and reduces the need for multiple biopsies.

Here‘s how it works.

The patient undergoes magnetic resonance imaging; those images are analyzed.

During the patient‘s biopsy procedure, UroNav fuses the MRI images with real-time ultrasound images to guide the surgeon to the precise area within the prostate where the cancer might be growing. Tissue samples are removed for laboratory analysis.

Pathologists in the lab determine the extent and aggressiveness of the cancer, so that surgeons can tailor the appropriate treatment.

Hear an interview with Vourganti about UroNav and prostate cancer